PANCREATIC CANCER & DRINKING WATER

Water Bottle Contaminants

No one fully understands how people develop pancreatic cancer, but over the past few years researchers have come to believe that contamination of drinking water may play a role in this deadly disease. On the other hand, drinking clean purified drinking water is better for your health and will lower your risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

The healthy cells in our bodies will divide and replace themselves in a very organized way. This is a process that is repeated over and over throughout our lives. When the health of the cells changes, the cells are no longer organized and grow out of control. When too much tissue is made by the body, tumors are formed.

Pancreatic cancer is a very silent disease; by the time the symptoms surface the cancer has already spread. Most people do not feel any changes in their health during the first stage of the disease. As the cancer growth progresses, they begin to notice dark colored urine, pale stools, floating bowels, pain in the upper stomach, pain in the center of the back, jaundice of the skin and eyes. When pancreatic cancer forms in the body, the cells will invade and destroy healthy cells. The cancer cells will break away from the tumor in the pancreas and spread to other tissues and organs.

As the tumor grows on the pancreas, the cancer patient will notice a loss in appetite, unexplained weight loss, feeling tired and weak. People feeling these symptoms should seek medical help immediately. A physician will know what stage the cancer patient is in by examining the tumor growth. The doctor will also look for cancer on nearby tissues and organs. After pancreatic cancer spreads, it can be located in the lymph nodes and liver. In many cases the cancer that can be found in the abdominal fluid and pancreatic cancer cells can be found in the lungs.

Doctors know how much the pancreatic cancer has spread by testing the cancer cells in other parts of the body. The cells will match the same ones located in the pancreas. That will tell the doctor exactly where the cancer originated. For example, the cancer cells on the liver are the same cells found in the pancreas. The disease would be considered metastic pancreatic cancer and not liver cancer. The doctor will refer to any new tumors as distant cancer.

A CT scan or Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) will show the doctor how far the cancer has spread in the body. Many surgeons will look inside of the abdominal wall with a thin tube, light and lens called a laparoscope. A small incision is made in the belly button and the tube is inserted inside of the stomach. This is done under general anesthesia at a hospital.

The risk of cell damage from pancreatic cancer is reduced by drinking purified water. Contaminated drinking water on the other hand, is suspected to be a cause of many types of cancers including pancreatic cancer. Drinking clean water will improve your overall health and reduce your risk for many forms of illnesses and disease.